a thousand miles
by Nearing Midnight
Summary: Zuko, the Gaang, and a series of firsts.
1. flight

**A/N: This will hopefully be a compilation of ficlets using the weekly prompts from Inktober. I'll follow a general theme of firsts between Zuko & the Gaang, because found family trope is my jam.**

**Thanks for reading! :)**

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**i. flight**

Zuko stared at the massive white beast before him. Appa stared back. Those glossy black eyes betrayed no emotion that Zuko could discern—though to be fair, he had never been the best at emotions in the first place.

"Hi," Zuko said, feeling nearly as intimidated and immeasurably more foolish than even the first time he'd tried to offer his services to the Avatar and his companions. Appa whuffed in response, and Zuko flinched, not entirely due to the strong gust of wind that followed the sound.

Perhaps Appa sensed his fear, for he lowered himself to the ground with a gentle grumble and rested his massive head on his front paws. Zuko edged forward again, and reached out a tentative hand to stroke the bison's nose. Appa leaned into the touch and closed his eyes in what looked like contentment.

An odd feeling stirred in Zuko's chest, and for a moment he feared he would begin _cooing_ to the creature, or worse, speak to it in that affectionate squeaky voice one usually reserved for very young children or ridiculously cute kitten-owlets. Fortunately, Zuko was well-versed in keeping shameful urges suppressed, and thus avoided embarrassing himself when the Avatar suddenly flipped into view with a burst of airbending.

"Appa likes you!" the Avatar said, grinning. "You can cuddle him more, if you like—he won't bite. Appa was always the best with the little kids back at the Southern Air Temple."

"I'm not a kid," Zuko muttered, glaring at the _twelve-year-old_ monk. But he scooted closer to Appa and rubbed the sides of his ears. Appa..._purred_, or whatever the equivalent was for sky bison. Zuko nearly melted. The fluff was truly as irresistible as it looked.

"I'm glad you've finally introduced yourselves. We're flying to the Sun Warrior ruins tomorrow, and it's always best when flyers get to know each other first." The Avatar drifted atop Appa's head and hugged his face, to Appa's rumbling delight. Zuko found himself smiling at the sight.

"Nice to meet you, too," he murmured into Appa's ear. Not quite quietly enough, for the Avatar — Aang — looked his way and beamed, bright as the sun.


	2. shadow

**ii. shadow**

The tip of Zuko's boot caught sharply on a stone. He stumbled, cursed. Stumbled again when he tried to yank his boot free, but then set his _other_ foot down on a loose rock that shifted the moment he put his weight on it. Up ahead, Toph cackled as Zuko narrowly avoided turning an ankle and staggered theatrically to keep his balance.

"Hurry up, Sparky!" she called, wide grin audible in her voice. "Sokka will finish off both our dinners, otherwise!"

Zuko squinted through the evening gloom and could just barely make out the slightly lighter bit of shadow that was probably Toph's silhouette, some distance ahead of him. "I'm hurrying," he grumbled, finally finding his footing. "Not that you're any help at all."

Toph cackled again. Zuko risked a quick jog forward so he could catch up to her, praying every moment that he wouldn't step right into a gopher-munk hole in the darkness.

"Is it really that dark out right now?" Toph asked as he approached, tapping one bare foot idly on the ground. "I know not everyone can have awesome earth-sense like me, but I thought summer meant that the day would last longer."

Zuko dodged Toph's friendly punch when he reached her side. "It's cloudy today," he said, catching his breath. "And it's already kinda late, even for summer. My eyesight isn't the best at night."

He scowled reflexively at Toph's smirk, but she only said, "That a firebender thing?"

"Partially." Zuko braced himself, then just went for it. "Some of it's also, uh. My injury."

Toph only hummed. Zuko wondered how much she knew about his scar — the extent of it, the severity. Presumably one of the others had already described it to her to prevent future surprises, but either way, Zuko was grateful for her lack of reaction.

A small, callused hand wrapped tight around his wrist and _yanked_. Zuko was nearly dragged clean off his feet. "Hey!" he yelped. "What was that for?"

"You said I wasn't being any help to you," Toph pointed out, tugging him forward at a surprising speed for her short legs. "So here I am. Helping."

"I didn't realize that meant pulling my arm off," Zuko shot back, digging in his heels until they were moving at a more reasonable pace. There was a warm feeling in his chest, however, as Toph stuck like a limpet to his side; dragging him constantly forward on the rocky trek back to the Western Air Temple, laughing over Zuko's protests, and later that night around the campfire, both of them warm and full from dinner, with Toph snoring like an earthquake against his shoulder.


End file.
